Czech game-design student completed a 5-month internship at a Helsinki mobile-gaming studio
Result: Shipped two playable prototypes that entered soft-launch testing; portfolio used to land a junior designer role
🇫🇮 Finland
Erasmus+ Internships and Mobility Programs in Helsinki
Piktalent organises Erasmus+ internships and mobility programs in Helsinki, Finland for higher-education institutions, VET providers and individual students. Each placement includes a vetted host company, accommodation, insurance and on-site coordination. Helsinki is the Nordic gateway for technology, gaming and clean-energy internships, with a tightly connected ecosystem around Aalto University, Maria 01 and Otaniemi that places international students directly into Finnish startups, listed tech firms and renewable-energy operators.
In short
- Location
- Helsinki, Finland
- Programmes
- Erasmus+ KA131, KA171, VET, HEI, BIP, job shadowing
- Duration
- 2 weeks – 12 months
- Includes
- Placement, accommodation, insurance, 24/7 support
Cost of living for interns in Helsinki
High costTypical monthly intern budget in Helsinki based on Piktalent-arranged shared accommodation. Figures are indicative and updated against current placements; Final pricing is confirmed with your proposal.
- Room
- €550–850/mo
- Daily expenses
- €330–430/mo
- Total monthly
- €880–1,280/mo
- Erasmus+ grant
- Erasmus+ grant covers the majority of monthly cost of living; modest top-up common.
What Piktalent delivers in Helsinki
Every mobility programme in Helsinki is fully managed end-to-end — so coordinators at sending institutions can focus on academic outcomes while we handle logistics, compliance and on-the-ground support.
Accommodation
Vetted, safe housing in Helsinki within commuting distance of the workplace — typically shared apartments or student residences.
Insurance
Travel and liability insurance covering the full mobility period, aligned with Erasmus+ requirements.
24/7 support
Local coordination team in Helsinki plus a 24/7 emergency line throughout the placement.
Host company matching
Placement matched to the participant's field of study and learning objectives across our Helsinki host network.
Mentoring & orientation
Airport transfer, city orientation and weekly check-ins with the on-site coordinator in Helsinki.
Documentation
Learning agreements, mid-term and final reports, Europass certificates and all paperwork required by the sending institution.
Mobility programmes
Erasmus+ mobility programmes we run in Helsinki
Helsinki suits HEI individual mobility (KA131) in computer science, game design, sustainable engineering and product design. Group mobilities are smaller here than in Southern Europe (typically 6–10 participants per cohort) and concentrate around the Otaniemi campus, Pasila and the Maria 01 startup hub.
Also available to individual students
À la carte support services in Helsinki
Accommodation
Vetted housing close to the host company in Helsinki — apartments, residences or host families.
Insurance
Health, accident and liability cover compliant with Erasmus+ and host-country requirements.
Visa & documentation
Guidance on visas, residence permits and host-country paperwork for non-EU participants.
Language courses
Pre-departure and on-site language training to speed up workplace integration in Helsinki.
TEFL — Teach English Abroad
Accredited TEFL certification — open enrolment, no internship required.
Internship job portal
Browse and apply directly to open internship positions in Helsinki and across Europe & the USA.
Why Helsinki for internships and mobility programs
Finnish workplaces are direct, low-hierarchy and quiet — long stretches of focused work are the norm and meetings are short and decision-oriented. Interns are given real ownership from week one and are expected to ask if they need help. The famous Finnish silence in lifts and corridors is cultural, not unfriendly, and disappears at the weekly team sauna.
Economy
Helsinki is a key economic hub in Finland, attracting international companies and offering an internship market that spans early-stage startups, established SMEs and multinational employers.
Key sectors
Active host-company sectors in Helsinki: tech, design, business, startups, gaming. Each Erasmus+ internship is matched to the participant's field of study.
International environment
English is the working language in most international placements in Helsinki. Teams are typically multinational, and incoming Erasmus+ participants integrate alongside an established alumni network.
Home to Supercell, Rovio, Wolt, Nokia and Europe's largest gaming cluster outside the UK
Maria 01 — the largest startup campus in the Nordics — hosts 200+ companies open to international interns
Strong clean-tech and renewable-energy sector around Fortum, Neste and Helen
Working English is universal in tech, gaming and academia — Finnish almost never required for placements
Compact city: 30 minutes door-to-door from Töölö housing to Maria 01 by tram
High-trust society with extremely low bureaucracy for incoming Erasmus+ students
Available internship fields in Helsinki
Piktalent offers Erasmus+ internships in Helsinki across the fields below. Each link opens a dedicated page with host-company examples, durations and learning outcomes.
How an Erasmus+ internship in Helsinki works
Four steps from first brief to final report. Plan twelve weeks of lead time for a quality mobility programme in Helsinki.
- 1
Brief & matching
Share participant profiles, dates and target field. Piktalent matches each intern to a vetted host company in Helsinki.
- 2
Learning Agreement & paperwork
We co-sign the Erasmus+ Learning Agreement, issue insurance and confirm the mobility programme details with the sending institution.
- 3
Pre-arrival & accommodation
Vetted accommodation in Helsinki is booked before arrival; pre-departure briefing covers culture, transport and emergency contacts.
- 4
On-site support & reporting
Local team in Helsinki runs check-ins, monitors the internship and delivers final reports plus Europass Mobility documents.
Internship examples in Helsinki
Recent placements managed by Piktalent in Helsinki.
Who is Helsinki best for?
Helsinki works particularly well for the participant profiles below. If your sending institution matches one of these, we typically have host capacity within 2–4 weeks.
- 1HEI students in game design, software engineering or product management
- 2Sustainable engineering and clean-energy students
- 3Participants who thrive in low-hierarchy, ownership-from-day-one cultures
- 4Erasmus+ participants who don't mind cold winters in exchange for a top-tier startup ecosystem
Frequently asked questions about internships in Helsinki
Other cities in Finland
Compare Helsinki with other Piktalent destinations in Finland.
Related cities by sector
Other Piktalent destinations with overlapping host-company sectors to Helsinki — useful when comparing cost, language and lead time across the same field.
From the blog — Helsinki & Finland
Plan your internship program in Helsinki
Tell us your sector, dates and group size — we'll send a tailored proposal for Helsinki within 48 hours.